Conveyer-tube.



No. 788,956. PATENTBD MAY 2, 1905.

. A. A' SMITH.

' CONVEYBR TUBE.

APPLIOATION FILED rm; 23'1900 WIT/V5525.

Patented May 2, 1905.

ArENr Price.

ANDREWV A. SMITH, OF PAONIA, COLORADO.

CONVEYER-TUBE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,956, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed February 23, 1905. Serial No. 246,950.

T0 all whom, it pea/y concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW A. SMITH, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Paonia, in the countyof Delta and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oonveyer-Tubes, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to conveyer-tubes or tubular conveyers.

The objects of my invention are to provide a tube which shall be normally flat and to provide such a tube with means for holding it yieldingly in its flattened condition, so that the tube will hold the material or articles passing through it frictionally from a too rapid descent; also, to provide the tube with inlets at different portions of its length, so that the material or articles to be conveyed may be introduced at different heights or levels; also, to provide an expansion-frame for the tube, so that the tube will be held flat and stiff, like a board, and so be capable of being stood up against any suitable support; also, to provide the lower end of the conveyer with padded feet or supports. These objects I accomplish by the construction illustrated in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved conveyer-tube. Fig. 2 is a like view of the ladder-like expansion-frame. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 isa transverse section on line i 4, Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a similar view on line 5 5.

A designates a flat tube formed of any suitable material and of any desired length.

B B designate two parallel strips inserted within the tube along its opposite longitudinal edges. These strips are provided at intervals with apertures Z) I), into which fit the ends of expansion-springs O O, which tend to force the strips apart, and so hold the tube in a yieldingly flattened or collapsed condition. These springs O C may be of any suitable construction, but are shown as bowsprings having coils 0 between their ends. After the strips are introduced into the tube A the springs O O are placed on the outer side of the tube, and their ends are forced through the material forming the tube and into the holes Z) in the strips B. It will be seen, therefore, that the springs are not in the path of the material passing down through the tube and that the interior of. the tube is entirely free from valves,baffles,and tortuous passages. There is therefore nothing within the tube to injure or bruise anything passing therethrough and no bends to clog or abruptly impede the passage.

The tube is perfectly fiat like a board, and the passage through it is perfectly straight, as the two sides of the tube are held apart the width of the strips B and in perfect parallelism by the springs.

The sides of the tube yield apart sufliciently for the passage of the material, but hold it frictionally against too rapid descent.

The tube is provided at different heights with pocket-like inlets E E, so that the articles or material may be introduced into the tube at different levels. The pockets E E communicate with the tube by slits or openings a a and are held flat against the outer side of the tube by D-shape springs a, the ends of which are also connected to the side strips B B.

The lower ends of the strips B B are provided with pads 7) b, so as not to injure anything upon which they may rest.

The tube may be formed of duck, oil-cloth, or other fabric, according to the use to which it is to be put.

My conveyer-tube may be used for a variety of purposes, but is especially adapted for fruit. In the orchard the tube may be passed up among the branches of the trees, and the operator may drop the fruit through any of the inlet-pockets or through the open upper end, according to where he stands. He can work from the ground up and can shift the conveyer from his position in the tree without descending to the ground. The operator is free from all connection with the conveyer, and so may more readily move from place to place in the tree. In gathering fruit the lower end of the conveyer will be placed in the barrel or other receptacle, and as the fruit rises therein the conveyer may be lifted from time to time, with its mufiied or padded lower end resting on top of the fruit without injury thereto.

While I have described the conveyer as particularly adapted for orchard use, I do not restrict myself to such use, as it may be used to convey material from difierent stories of a house or from different levels at any other place.

Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- l. A conveyer-tube formed of two parallel flat members or sides with a straight unobstructed passage between them, and means for holding the sides yieldingly against the material passing therebetween.

2. The combination with a flattened conveyer-tube, of means for holding the tube in its flattened or collasped condition.

3. The combination with a flattened conveyer-tube, of expansion devices at intervals throughout the length of the tube for holding it in its flattened or collapsed condition.

4;. The combination with a flattened conveyer-tube, of expansion springs engaging the opposite longitudinal edges of the tube and holding it collapsed or flattened.

5. The combination With a straight flat flexible tube, of parallel stiffening-strips along opposite edges of the tube and expansion-springs forcing the strips apart and holding the tube in its flat condition.

6. The combination with a flattened con- Veyer-tube, of parallel stiffening-strips along the inner longitudinal edges of the tube and external expansion-springs engaging said strips with their ends.

7. A ladder-like expansion-frame for conveyer-tubes, comprising parallel strips and expansion-springs connected at their ends to said strips.

8. A ladder-like expansion-frame for conveyer-tubes comprising parallel strips and expansion-springs coiled between their ends and connected at their ends to said strips.

9. Thecombination with a flattened expansible con veyer-tube of an inlet-pocket between the open ends of said tube.

10. The combination with a flattened expansible conveyer-tub'e of inlet-pockets at intervals between the ends of the tube.

11. The combination with a flattened conveyer-tube, and expansion devices to hold the tube in its flattened condition, of an inletpocket communicating with the tube between the ends thereof, and provided with an expansion-spring to hold it flat to the tube.

12. A ladder-like expansion-frame for conveyer-tubes comprising parallel longitudinal strips having muflied or padded lower ends and expansion-springs connecting said strips.

13. A conveyer comprising a flattened flexible tube, parallel strips along the sides of the tube and having padded or mufliled lower ends, and expansion-springs exterior to the tube and engaging the said strips to force them apart.

In testimony whereof I afl ix my signature in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ANDREW A. SMITH.

Witnesses:

P. C. CURTIS, W. V. EUBANKs. 

